From 1 July 2026 Hungary will tighten its M-sheet VAT reporting, requiring detailed breakdowns of VAT charged and deducted by rate, and mandating new data fields. The ÁNYK filing system will be phased out by 31 December 2026, with taxpayers moving to the eVAT platform, and M-sheets will be abolished entirely from 2027. These changes stem from the 2025 Autumn Tax Package and represent a shift toward real‑time, deduction‑based reporting.

Portugal has introduced a 6% VAT rate for the construction of homes intended for sale or rent at moderate prices, but the measure is restricted by EU regulations to owner‑occupied homes up to €684,000 and rentals up to €2,300 per month. The new law, published on 6 March 2026, gives the government 180 days to approve the relief, and accompanying decrees also lower income tax for rentals, exempt capital gains on reinvested profits, and impose a 7.5% transfer tax on non‑resident buyers.

The European Parliament and Council have agreed on a comprehensive reform of the EU Customs Code aimed at tackling the surge in e‑commerce parcels. Key measures include a new handling fee for individual parcels from non‑EU countries, treating e‑commerce platforms as importers, a new EU Customs Authority in Lille, and a customs data hub to be mandatory by 2034.

The article outlines a CFO-focused readiness scorecard for e-invoicing, highlighting gaps in regulatory awareness, technical infrastructure, process maturity, vendor coverage, and organisational alignment. It details key mandates in Belgium, France, and Germany, and stresses the importance of early assessment to avoid penalties and lengthy implementation cycles.

Usage‑based billing for AI and SaaS services introduces VAT compliance challenges that stem from system design rather than legal ambiguity. Key issues include the timing of VAT on prepayments, the treatment of free usage, and the risk of late VAT declaration when true‑ups are billed at year‑end. The EU Court of Justice’s ruling on unused airline tickets illustrates how tax authorities view the right to service as a taxable supply.

This blog post explains how SAF‑T can bridge the gap between real‑time e‑invoicing and periodic VAT returns, highlighting EU ViDA mandates, national e‑invoicing rules, and the role of SAF‑T in reconciling data. It details penalties in Poland, Romania’s cross‑validation pilot, and Italy’s fraud‑reduction success, underscoring the need for continuous data validation.

Bahrain’s National Bureau for Revenue released guidance version 1.5 on March 11 2026 clarifying that VAT paid as deposits during import is not immediately recoverable. Registered persons must obtain a customs declaration receipt confirming a ‘VAT confiscation’ status before they can reclaim the VAT, and the recovery must occur within five years from the end of the calendar year in which the deposit becomes recoverable.

Cyprus has reduced the VAT on domestic electricity to 5% from 1 May 2026 to 31 March 2027 and zero‑rated meat, poultry and fish from 1 April to 30 September 2026. Motor fuel excise duty will fall by 8.33 cents per litre between April and June 2026, and the planned Green Tax has been cancelled. The measures are part of a €200 m support package that also includes subsidies for hotels, airlines and farmers.

Chile’s new administration announced a proposal to temporarily suspend VAT on residential property sales for one year, aiming to revive a stagnant housing market. The measure could lower final housing prices by 3‑8%, but input VAT on construction costs would become non‑creditable and must be capitalised. Its success hinges on congressional approval and swift implementation.

The UK government’s Simplified Customs Declaration Process (SCDP) offers a two‑stage electronic declaration method that reduces border controls for authorised traders. Importers must be pre‑authorised, hold an EORI number, and submit a supplementary declaration within ten calendar days of the reporting period’s end, keeping records for four years.

The European Commission has opened a public consultation to revise the EU e‑Invoicing Directive, offering three options that range from mandatory use of the EN 16931 standard for B2G transactions above thresholds to a full EU‑wide rollout with interoperability requirements and EU‑level governance. The consultation runs from 18 March to 10 June 2026 and seeks input on how to accelerate harmonisation ahead of the ViDA mandate, which will require structured e‑invoicing for intra‑EU B2B by July 2030.

Germany is preparing XRechnung 4.0, the next major version of its national e‑invoice standard, to align with the revised EN 16931‑1:2026. The new standard will break the one‑order‑one‑delivery rule, add B2B‑specific fields, and will not be backward compatible with XRechnung 3.0. Businesses must plan for the transition as the German e‑invoicing mandate requires all e‑invoices by 1 January 2028, likely using XRechnung 4.0.

Trinity Christian School in Reading closed after 13 years, citing the removal of VAT exemption on private school fees and rising business rates as the main reasons. The UK government introduced VAT on private school fees from 1 January 2025 at the standard 20% rate, expected to raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30. The school’s business rates increased to £35,000 from about £5,000, and its application for discretionary relief was denied.

This webinar, scheduled for March 26, 2026, will cover e‑invoicing and digital reporting obligations across Northern Europe, including Germany, Poland, the Nordics, and the Baltics. Participants will learn about upcoming timelines, the shift to real‑time compliance and CTC models, and practical steps for centralizing and automating reporting. The session aims to help organizations prepare for evolving regulatory requirements in the region.

This article outlines the tax and compliance requirements for online stores operating in Bulgaria, including mandatory registration with the National Revenue Agency, submission of monthly audit files, and conditions triggering VAT registration. It also explains cross‑border obligations such as OSS, VIES, and Intrastat for EU and non‑EU transactions.

This article argues that e‑invoicing does not create new problems but instead exposes existing process failures. It highlights how structured invoices enforce strict validation rules in countries such as Italy, India, and Germany, and cites adoption statistics following Italy’s 2019 mandate. The piece also discusses the impact of e‑invoicing on exception rates, processing costs, and cycle times.

HMRC’s Brief 9 confirms that supplies of locum doctors are exempt from VAT under Item 5, Group 7, Schedule 9 of the VAT Act 1994. The guidance also explains how businesses can claim refunds for over‑declared output tax on such supplies made within the last four years, and notes that HMRC is reviewing policy and will issue updated guidance in due course.

The article examines the European Court of Justice ruling on loyalty programme vouchers, noting that while some advisers praised the court’s definition of a voucher for VAT purposes, a UK partner highlighted unanswered questions. It offers expert commentary on the implications for VAT compliance in the EU and the UK.